Emergency Services

Emergency Warning Broadcast System

It shall be the policy of the Village of Glen Carbon Police Department to activate the Emergency Warning Broadcast System (EWBS) to alert the public of the threat of severe weather, hazardous material spills and leaks, and any other situations that constitute a threat to the general health and safety of the public.

Activation due to weather conditions.

When weather conditions exist that may produce a severe weather threat to the Village of Glen Carbon and or the surrounding geographic area, the dispatcher and shift commander on duty will monitor the National Weather Service Radio Frequency and the LEADS terminal for severe weather warning notification, including but not limited to tornado and severe thunderstorm and hail warnings. The Shift Commander shall also assign patrol officers on duty to appropriate locations within the Village to monitor weather conditions and observe the skies for signs of severe storms and tornadoes. (EX. National Weather service issues a tornado watch.) The EWBS will be activated by the dispatcher on duty in the following situations:

The National Weather Service issues a severe weather warning or tornado Warning for the geographic area that includes the Village of Glen Carbon. Severe weather includes but is not limited to tornado warning, high winds (exceeding 70 mph), strong thunderstorms, hail storms, etc.

At the direction of the Shift Commander on duty when a tornado has been visually confirmed or reported as sighted by a citizen.

When weather related emergencies occur as described above, the dispatcher or shift commander will activate the call key for the appropriate warning message of the EWBS.

The Village Glen Carbon will not activate the EWBS to sound an “all clear” message in weather related emergencies.

Activation due to non weather emergency conditions.

Under authority of the Village of Glen Carbon Emergency Operation Plan, which utilizes the Incident Command System, the Glen Carbon Fire Protection District is the authorized main attack force in a Hazardous Material Emergency Situation. This includes natural gas and fuel leaks from punctured and ruptured service delivery lines. The EWBS will be activated by the dispatcher or the designee of the Incident Commander upon notice and direction from the specific incident commander. The dispatcher on duty or the appropriate designee will activate the system using CK3, Hazardous Material Warning. The warning shall consist of a series of alternating high and low tones followed by a pre-recorded message giving directions.

The EWBS will be activated only for the area covered or threatened by the material spill or leak.
The incident commander on the scene of a hazardous material spill may authorize the use of the EWBS Evacuation Warning, when necessary and appropriate. The Evacuation Warning shall be sounded only for the area affected by the spill that requires evacuation for the safety of the public. Whenever an evacuation warning is issued, the Village President, the Chief of Police and the Public Works director shall be notified immediately.

Activation due to miscellaneous emergencies – Public Address Function

The EWBS may be activated in miscellaneous emergency situations using the public address feature when circumstances exist that imminently threaten the loss of life or substantial property loss. These circumstances include but are not limited to lost children, residents who walk away from nursing homes or shelter care, emergency boil orders issued by the Public Works Director.

Activation under this section (Section C) shall not be done without prior approval of the Chief of Police or the Village Board President.

The EWBS will be activated in those areas only affected by the emergency or threat.

Testing:

The dispatcher on duty shall perform a system wide silent test of the system at the beginning of each tour of duty. The dispatcher shall immediately report to the Shift Commander and the Public Works Director (or his designate) an system malfunctions or maintenance needs discovered in the test.

The dispatcher on duty shall activate the system with the test message and perform a live test on the system on the first Tuesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. In cases where there is a threat of adverse weather conditions for the test, the test may be canceled upon authority of and after consultation with the Shift Commander. The Shift Commander shall report any test cancellation to the Chief of Police.

On the third Tuesday of every month, the Shift Commander shall perform a test of the EWBS from a remote location within the Village of Glen Carbon by activating the system using a portable activation unit. The Shift Commander shall rotate the portable units used for the test, including those assigned to the Fire Protection District so that each portable unit is tested at least twice during the calendar year.

Maintenance: The Village of Glen Carbon Public Works Department shall be responsible for the maintenance of the hardware of the EWBS. The Village Police Department shall be responsible for maintaining the computer hardware and software of the system.

Emergency Relief Shelter - Senior/Community Center

Upon notification from the Chief of Police or the Director of Public Works, or their designated representative, the facility will serve as a Madison County Mass Care Cooling Shelter. Such declaration shall be made when heat indexes exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit or in any weather related emergency when in the opinion of the Director of Public Works or the Chief of Police it is in the best interest of public safety to utilize the facility in such a manner. Hours of Operation of the Shelter shall remain the same as listed in Section 2 above.

Madison County Emergency Management Agency shall be notified when the facility utilized as a Mass Care Cooling Shelter.

Upon declaration of the facility as a Mass Care Cooling Shelter, the issuing authority shall ensure that a Madison County Emergency Management Agency is notified of the declaration and a public notice containing the following information shall be issued:

The hours of operation and address of the shelter.

Instructions to the public of Glen Carbon regarding transportation for those in need of shelter who have special needs or those without transportation.